Smudging and Sage

 

Poster comes from an email from a friend.  Origin unknown.

I have been asked many times - when is the right time to burn sage?  One of my friends sent me an email with the above poster in it it called “When To Burn Sage”.

The poster lists the following events as a reason to burn sage:

• When you have been arguing
• When someone in your home is sick
• When visitors leave
• When you buy second hand items
• When the vibe feels icky
• When you have been depressed
• When you are grieving a loss
• During the Full Moon
• When anxiety strikes
• When you have had a nightmare
• While doing chores
• Before meditation/spells
• To clear crystals and spiritual tools
• When you move into a new home

These are all wonderful reasons to burn sage and to smudge.  I have a few more reasons to add.  Smudge yourself with sage when these events occur:

• When you are preparing for a ceremony
• Before you start a healing session
• When you  have been to a hospital or nursing home or visiting an ill friend
• When you have had a trying day at work
• When you feel a cold or flu hitting you
• When you injure yourself

You can also smudge your dog or cat, especially if they are not feeling well.  

Sage is a very common smudging/clearing tool.  You can also use juniper branches, sweet grass, lavender, or any combination of the smudging tools.  I have some lovely sage and juniper smudge sticks.  Another favourite smudge is palo santo, a smudge stick from a tree native to Ecuador and Peru.

My rule of thumb is - if you feel like smudging, go ahead and smudge.  You will feel better.

Many blessings,

Judy

Listening To The Guidance

  

One of my teachers said to our group that when we pray, we are talking to God (or the Universe or Great Spirit, or whatever you want to call the Energy that you talk to. And, when we meditate, God talks to us.  I find that my guidance comes through meditation, through Nature, through random messages from different people, or, from very specific words that seem to just show up.  However, there have been times where the Angels or Guides had to go through different people to get to me because I was not listening.  Sometimes, we get so caught up in doing that we forget to listen.

Quite a while ago, I was caught up in my own little drama of work and getting things done, and, I was not listening or meditating or really doing much spiritually.  One day I got a phone call from a lady.  She identified herself and then told me that I did not know her.  However, my Guides were not able to get through to me with a message so they asked her to deliver it.  The message was that it was time for me to pick up the book that my friend Ruth gave me about a year earlier.  I was to read the book, cover to cover, and then act on it.  The message included a notice that I really needed to start meditating for at least 15 minutes a day. 

I was stunned!  This lady could not know about my friend Ruth, or the book, and that I hadn’t read it.  I thanked the caller, went and found the book, and read it.  The reading of the book and practising what it said set me on a new path of spiritual work.  I am grateful for that day.

Blessings.

Judy

Creativity and Beauty

 

The pictures above come from a gallery in Black Diamond Alberta. Pictures by J Hirst.

When most of see old wood on the ground, we think of firewood.  When the artist who created the sculptures above sees old wood, and in this case, petrified wood, he sees an animal or bird.  The gift of getting a vision to create “something” is a fantastic gift.  We may not all be able to see the sculpture or the painting in a setting, but we may “see” something else.  We might see a story, or a way to heal, or an invention.  Everyone has creativity and the wonder of it is that we create beauty.

I believe that when we are given a gift, such as the ability to create art, we are bound to share it.  If we do not share, then the ability withers and our soul shrinks a bit.  We all need to do that “thing” that sings to us in our body, mind, and soul.

Blessings

Judy